During our monthly members meeting on Jan 12th, 2012, ADTA member Mike Van Alstine presented an adaptation of Colonel “Jeff” Coopers, Color Code of Awareness, developed for Special Forces / U.S. Military but useful for everyday life for everyone and essential if you regularly and responsibly carry a concealed pistol.

As an exercise, Chad suggested you try this the next time you’re out and about. At a random moment, pause and consider: without looking, do you know where your nearest exit routes are? Do you know who is around you, their approximate positions, and what they are doing? Are you aware of any recent changes in the situation that, mentally, should prompt you to consider if-thens? Now look around and confirm; were you right? Repeat this exercise whenever you get a chance and in time your cognitive ability and recognition of situations will improve.

Mike gave a good presentation and there were lots of questions and comments. I appreciated his chart that showed the colors in a diamond shape. Each level is depicted from the bottom up – White, Yellow, Orange, Red, and Black. The points have the smallest volume of the diamond and are occupied by White and Black. This shows that you should minimize your time in the white and black levels. I was hopeful that Mike would follow up with an article, but his schedule has not allowed that. So I’ll fill in with my perspective.

I also use these color codes in the self defense classes that I teach. The following list was part of the handout developed at the Tri-City School of Karate where I studied and taught. Credit goes to Vinnie Rizzo Sensei for documenting these.

We call it “The Five Conditions”.

Condition White: You are totally unaware of your surroundings and totally unprepared for even the prospect of danger.

Condition Yellow: You are relaxed but alert. You are not expecting trouble, but you are aware of your environment, so you would recognize a problem if it arose.

Condition Orange: You are aware that there seems to be a problem and your body is reacting (e.g.: Some one has picked you out and you know it.)

Condition Red: The problem has occurred and you are facing one or more opponents you reasonably believe might do you harm. You should be taking cover and actively performing the appropriate defensive tactics. If already under attack, you are willing to neutralize the threat.

Condition Black: You are in a blind state of panic where you are unable to react to the situation because you have developed neither the inner tools nor the outer skills with which to react. (e.g.: It happens, you had no raised awareness it was coming, are unprepared, unaware, untrained, and under their control and influence.)

As Mike said, with training in these color conditions, it would be easy to bring family members or friends to a ready state should you see something of note and say, “Condition Orange” as you look in the direction where you want to have everyone focus. You don’t have to explain anything. They can assess the situation without lots of verbal exchange which could bring attention to you.

You are most vulnerable in Condition White. Maybe you just woke up; had a deep relaxing massage or spa experience; or under the influence of a drug. Maybe even just on vacation without a care, just having a fun time. Complacency and familiarity of surroundings will also bring up false sense of security. Get out of this condition NOW.

Assess your surroundings and personal condition and move into Condition Yellow. This is where most of our daily life should be at. This is where Chad’s exercise should be revealing as to your Condition Yellow state. Stay alert and make provisions to minimize your exposure to potential problems. Such as keeping your kids close at hand; don’t leave your purse open in a shopping cart; don’t leave your car running when you are not in it; don’t leave your computer or iPod in plain view in the parked car.

You can enter into Condition Orange by going into a risky area of town. Your antenna should be up and functioning in these areas. Your sixth sense is in overdrive. But if trouble comes looking for you, then Condition Orange came upon you. Hopefully you were prepared in Condition Yellow and saw the potential and postured yourself for the threat.

None of your posturing has helped. You are now in Condition Red. Attack is imminent or already underway (it’s happens quickly!). You must be physically ready (hands unencumbered). Your mind set ready to do them harm. You are willing to do whatever it takes to win. NOT JUST SURVIVE, BUT TO WIN! This is why you train! This is where the repetition of drills plays its part as you move as you were conditioned.

If they haven’t gotten physical, only to the shouting stage and body posturing to intimidate you, you can try to flee (never turn your back to them), or use verbal judo to defuse their state of mind. Talk with your hands to keep the hands up in a guard position. But be ready for the physical attack. Don’t be surprised.

Condition Black! How did this happen??? This should not happen! But it does. Even combat troops get into this stage when they didn’t plan, didn’t do enough intelligence gathering or even ignoring the data and signs and get ambushed. This is pure chaos and panic. You are wasting precious time and opportunities to escape or to minimize your exposure and maximize your survival. In this situation it’s pure and simple survival! Yell and scream for help; do whatever it takes to remain collected and defend the best you can. Your training fails you when your mind is in a panic state. It’s not there to focus your counter offensive. The faster you can get your mind under control, the quicker you can get back to Condition Red.

Periodically check your level of alertness by performing a modified Chad’s drill throughout the day so you don’t lapse into Condition White. If there is no one around, just do a mental picture of your office or home or car. Then see if you got things right.

Colonel Cooper also has his “Principles of Personal Defense” that supplements the “Color Code of Awareness”. These principles are alertness, decisiveness, aggressiveness, speed, coolness (mental), ruthlessness, and surprise. These were written when he was in Nicaragua (before the Communist take over). He noted that this part of the world was very turbulent and the need for self defense was a constant since the Spaniards left in the 19th century. I don’t think we need to translate those principles here. But they represent the behavior you need to win any conflict.

This is an awesome article!

The City Dwelling Gunner

In the hostile spaces between concrete monoliths resides one unlikely species with an unflinching determination to survive. Possessing skillful training and weaponry, while employing the full scope of its cunning, this creature moves undetected through the perilous byways of its natural habitat. Its cautious demeanor and keen senses help it navigate undetected as it forages for food and performs complex mating rituals, which are still largely a mystery to science. With the help of some dedicated organizations like the National Rifle Association however, these reclusive beasts are finally being lured out of hiding in order to receive the study and research they deserve.

The City Dwelling Gunner (Urbanus Protectoris) was long thought to be extinct in North America since roughly the 1950’s, having been largely replaced by a much more timid and poorly armed City Dweller (Urbanus Victimus). The City Gunner was being forced from its domain in record numbers in the 1980’s and 90’s due mostly to propagation of misinformation, and repeated attempts by the government and politicians to eliminate this majestic creature. But a serge in the number of natural predators, including the crackhead, the murderous psychopath and the bumbling greedy idiot thief, has made the survival of the City Dwelling Gunner more important than ever, lest the delicate balance of the eco-system be upset. Scientists and firearms advocates alike were delighted to find that, contrary to the popular belief that the City Dwelling Gunner population had been decimated, there are actually several thriving colonies around the country. Experts credit the species’ plucky resilience and the Internet for the colonies’ existence.

Conservation efforts for these remaining individuals continue in full force despite the numerous challenges to identifying Gunners and increasing their numbers. Part of the difficulty lies in discovering the Gunners amid a back drop of non-descript Sheeple City Dwellers. The City Gunners are masters of disguise, frequently employing such tactics as wearing skinny jeans, driving a Toyota Prius shopping at Ikea or even consuming soy-based coffee drinks. While these measures may seem extreme, they can mean the difference between safety and peril in the Gunner’s world. As long as the Gunner can stay camouflaged, he is not thought to be a threat and thus, can go about his business in peace. If provoked however, the Gunner’s defense is legendary and he will not hesitate to protect himself or those around him. Many predators, like the crackhead and the bumbling greedy idiot thief can frequently be deterred by a menacing display of shouting and arm waving. Some more dangerous adversaries, like the murderous psychopath, can only be stopped by employing the Gunner’s greatest defense, his firearm, though this is a last resort.

In these troubled times, there is an urgent imperative to save the City Dwelling Gunner. The call has gone out to other Gunners around the country to stand in solidarity with their odd-looking brethren in their time of struggle. Though their appearance and mode of communication may seem strange at best, the survival of the City Dwelling Gunner is paramount. It is also important that the City Dwelling Sheeple realize the importance of preserving and co-existing with the Gunner, since he is a valuable asset to the community. It is apparent that a campaign to educate the Whole Foods-shopping masses is necessary, so that hopefully, one day soon, the safety and longevity of these benevolent creatures will be assured.

The one thing that most Real­ity Based Self Defense prac­ti­tion­ers spend the least amount of time train­ing for is the after­math of a vio­lent encounter. Yet, this is one of the most impor­tant skill sets to cul­ti­vate in real world per­sonal pro­tec­tion train­ing. There are sev­eral major com­po­nents to for us to con­di­tion our­selves for suc­cess in. Each com­po­nent needs to be actu­ally trained in through live action role play­ing at first and then through adren­a­line stress con­di­tion­ing sce­nar­ios sec­ond. Intel­lec­tual study alone will not surface.

The first drill that we need to prac­tice is ESCAPING TO SAFETY. We can work the drill from the point in the fight where we downed our attacker. We need to have a plan of action already con­di­tioned into us so that under the pres­sure of an adren­a­line dump that’s going to occur in a real life phys­i­cal con­flict, we will suc­cess­fully put our­selves in a posi­tion of safety. As soon as we stun or down our attacker we want to run to safety, prefer­ably to a where we can call 911 for the police and an ambu­lance. We need to prac­tice say­ing slowly and clearly “I’m at _______ I was attacked and I need the police and an ambu­lance imme­di­ately.” Don’t hang up until the oper­a­tor does. Also be mind­ful that your con­ver­sa­tion is being recorded and can be used in a court of law. Ulti­mately you want to be in a place of cover where you can keep an eye on your downed attacker. While you wait for the police to arrive check your­self or any­body that you’re with for injuries and admin­is­ter first aid as needed.

The next drill we need to prac­tice is TALKING TO THE POLICE. We need to per­sua­sively com­mu­ni­cate to the police that we were THE VICTIM of a vio­lent crime and that in fear of our lives we fought back. Once again we need to prac­tice this script so that under the pres­sure of a real life sit­u­a­tion we will say the proper things that have us going home free and the bad guy(s) going to jail.

Lastly, we want to method­i­cally go over our story and rehearse it. We may have to speak to sev­eral dif­fer­ent police offi­cers and attor­neys. We want to make sure to con­vey that we are the good guy and the vic­tim in this sit­u­a­tion. Write down all of the key details of the crime and then rehearse your story out loud, then have a trusted train­ing part­ner pres­sure test you by try­ing to pick your story apart.

Prop­erly prepar­ing your­self for the after­math of a fight is just as impor­tant as train­ing for the pre-fight and the fight itself. Invest­ing time in this most impor­tant com­po­nent of Real­ity Based Self Defense train­ing will pay great div­i­dends in the future if you ever are the vic­tim of a vio­lent crime.

Come out and enjoy the biggest WAC Gun Show of the year this coming weekend, October 13 & 14, Puyallup Fairgrounds. Collectors from all over will be there to display their collections. Women and Guns will have two tables to display custom products, and we will be accepting registrations for our new classes at Federal Way Discount Guns Indoor Range.